Beekeepers diary and first inspection 2018

[Curly green fingers]

Hi everyone I thought I would start a thread on the above title, but this is for 2018..
This is when I started to see pollen and I keep a diary of temp and the weather conditions.
And also my first inspection .

Clee hill apiary.
13:15pm entrance observations.
March 11th small amounts of pollen , gorse , hazel, crocus.
Light breeze , cloudy with out breaks of sunshine. Temp 11C .
First dates last year for pollen.
This year February 13th 2019 (over a month earlier.)

12ish entrance observation
March 30th loads of pollen really busy at the entrance , willow , gorse and blue pollen?
The willow has just come into bloom .
Temp 12 C reasonably breezy sunshine and showers there foraging in-between shower's. Not warm enough for an inspection.

First inspection.
April 10th 17C lovely day sunny and still.
Super added as there's lots of willow nectar in the brood mixed with syrup/fondant stores so I remove two frames and add frames of comb right next to the cluster. There's a nice willow flow and we get some honey.

If you have the time feel free to right your results down .
Cheers
Mark..

 

[simonforeman]

This time last year I didn't even have bees......

 

[Curly green fingers]

This time last year I didn't even have bees......

Your glad you have them now though
This time last year I only had 1 colony now it's double figures.. and I've 4 apiary sites...
My wife loves me.. or want's to divorce me!

 

[Curly green fingers]

I wanted to add when I did my first inspection I also changed the omf floor .
Second inspection bee's got transferred into a new brood box .
Imo floors should be changed every new season.

 

[For want of a better word]

I wanted to add when I did my first inspection I also changed the omf floor .
Second inspection bee's got transferred into a new brood box .
Imo floors should be changed every new season.

Any volunteers to help me change 100+ floors on 1st April????

 

[Curly green fingers]

Any volunteers to help me change 100+ floors on 1st April????

Yes if you can put me up for the week .
I could do with a holiday .

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Second inspection bee's got transferred into a new brood box .
Imo floors should be changed every new season.

Why?

 

[For want of a better word]

Yes if you can put me up for the week .
I could do with a holiday .

I was just fooling

 

[Curly green fingers]

Why?

Brood box needed repair .
Omf can be cleaned really well dead bee's fungal spores etc..

 

[Curly green fingers]

I was just fooling

Alright TOM!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Brood box needed repair .
Omf can be cleaned really well dead bee's fungal spores etc..

If the brood box needs repair, fair enough, but no need for this compulsive, excessive almost anal rehiving of bees every season then burning and scrubbing the box to buggery. All because someone keeps copying and pasting the ramblings of some random beekeeper published way back when we still had children going up chimneys and not bothering to think whether it's necessary.
Don't see the need to change the floors annually unless, again, there is a need to. I find that usually there isn't.
The only time they get routinely changed with me is if there is a nadired super - easier to just dump the brood box onto a fresh floor, move the hive back to original position, give the now vacated floor a quick brush down and use it for the next transfer

 

[Curly green fingers]

If the brood box needs repair, fair enough, but no need for this compulsive, excessive almost anal rehiving of bees every season then burning and scrubbing the box to buggery. All because someone keeps copying and pasting the ramblings of some random beekeeper published way back when we still had children going up chimneys and not bothering to think whether it's necessary.
Don't see the need to change the floors annually unless, again, there is a need to. I find that usually there isn't.
The only time they get routinely changed with me is if there is a nadired super - easier to just dump the brood box onto a fresh floor, move the hive back to original position, give the now vacated floor a quick brush down and use it for the next transfer

1 I didn't say about having to re- hive every season .
2 a floor that's been through winter will have remains of dead bee's mold spores which in my opinion could be transferred up into the hive when there active .
3, I don't copy and paste sugar honey ice tea! ...( Only on the odd occasion).
4 . Ive an O.C.D go figure . But still don't scrub / burn the hell out of kit.
5. I've 50 years of my grandads diary's to glee over.
And learn from his mistakes.
Cheers
Mark....

 

[philipm]

Sure I've read somewhere about the anti bacterial properties of propolis so scrubbing and cleaning everything to death may not be in the bees best interest.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Sure I've read somewhere about the anti bacterial properties of propolis so scrubbing and cleaning everything to death may not be in the bees best interest.

Yup - the unfortunate thing is the 'New learning' we get passed to us nowadays comes from a book which has been copied and pasted from an older 'new' book which was plagiarised from an even older book and so on, nobody over the years has given much thought as to whether it is true or relevant (Apart from ROB Manley in 1947, who saw straight through the guff preached by the BBKA and said so) and it will perpetuate through the hordes of non thinking beekeepers who like a good mantra to chant.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

1 I didn't say about having to re- hive every season

I know you didn't but many feel compelled to - even though they don't have a clue as to why they're doing it

a floor that's been through winter will have remains of dead bee's mold spores which in my opinion could be transferred up into the hive when there active .

I don't often see a floor in that state in the spring - if I do, it's usually because the colony is already sick

[/QUOTE]

active .
I don't copy and paste

It's just a figure of speech in this case - and a fitting description of the majority of beekeeping publications on the shelves nowadays, repeating instructions written over a century ago without any examination of the statement or though if it is true.
And indeed descriptive of what many 'teachers' also utter.

 

[Curly green fingers]

I know you didn't but many feel compelled to - even though they don't have a clue as to why they're doing it



I don't often see a floor in that state in the spring - if I do, it's usually because the colony is already sick

It's just a figure of speech in this case - and a fitting description of the majority of beekeeping publications on the shelves nowadays, repeating instructions written over a century ago without any examination of the statement or though if it is true.
And indeed descriptive of what many 'teachers' also utter.[/QUOTE]

When I was at one of my last meetings you will be surprised at how many older beekeepers do scrub and blow torch the inside of hives every season .
Answer why ... If you think when a hive swarms and starts a new nest else where in a tree eg... They will use fresh propolis so by scrubbing/torching it's the same thing the bee's will use fresh propolis in the cleaned hive .is this bbka mantra?

Another thing there was almost a chant when someone said how many nails do you use for frames 11 each frame everyone said together am I missing something here .. to many camelians in this life . More mantra?????
Ah that's better ....

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

They will use fresh propolis so by scrubbing/torching it's the same thing the bee's will use fresh propolis in the cleaned hive

So struggling to justify their compulsive scrubbing. Excuses rather than reasons.

Making more work for the bees, instead of leaving the propolis in place which the bees will supplement with another layer....and another layer of fresh propolis ad infinitum.

there was almost a chant when someone said how many nails do you use for frames 11 each frame everyone said together am I missing something here

You are - that is the minimum amount you need to ensure the frame won't fall apart at the least excuse remembering the number is an easy way of remembering to fix it properly - - think about it.

 

[Poly Hive]

I do like Manley. And his frames.

I had to laugh last year. A person was busy telling everyone on FB that he hated poly as he had several out apiaries and he took apiary hygiene to really anal levels, and then he moaned about not being able to clean poly and it was so terrible that he couldn't scorch it as seemingly he scorched every swining thing he owned. Wouldn't surprise me if his wife was damn quick on her toes when she hears the blowtorch firing up....

It is just ridiculous the extremes that some are going to and who is saying all this is essential? Yes the usual suspect.

PH

 

[Curly green fingers]

So struggling to justify their compulsive scrubbing. Excuses rather than reasons.

Making more work for the bees, instead of leaving the propolis in place which the bees will supplement with another layer....and another layer of fresh propolis ad infinitum.



You are - that is the minimum amount you need to ensure the frame won't fall apart at the least excuse remembering the number is an easy way of remembering to fix it properly - - think about it.

I understand , when it comes to frames I glue and use nails .
I recently spent an age cleaning very old frames Manley's and Hoffman . Cutting the comb out and removing nails I used a mixture of water and washing soda but brought it to a rolling boil in a big
Sauce pan , I did this out side, per frame it took seconds to get them like new .
Does anyone else do this.
You don't have to pull all the frame apart but only remove one of the bottom bars of the frame you can leave the rest intact?

Good job I don't waste my time going on FB pH..

 

[Madge]

... You are - that is the minimum amount you need to ensure the frame won't fall apart at the least excuse remembering the number is an easy way of remembering to fix it properly - - think about it.

I only use six nails (and no glue, Curly Fingers) - and I’ve never had a frame fall apart.

Where do you put the extra five nails?

PS: sorry: the wedge! I forgot about that. So, that’s nine nails. I suppose you use two nails per side bar where I mostly use only one. That’s eleven.

Answered my own question.